A Sisterhood of Mothers

“At Our Place I found a sisterhood of mothers. It is a place where babies and motherhood are celebrated.” Gabi S., Stork Secrets program participant.

“I had a wonderful experience with my first son,” says Gabi. She looked forward to a similar close experience when her second son was born. Unfortunately, he was fussy due to acid reflux. “He didn’t sleep for more than 40 minutes at a time for the first six weeks!” Gabi and her husband cared for the baby in shifts just to survive. Instead of feeling close to her newborn, she felt resentful toward him. “He felt like an intruder,” says Gabi. She thought to herself, “I’m done. I’m going to have a mental breakdown.”

One of Gabi’s clients had told her about the Stork Secrets program for parents who need pre/post-natal mental health support. Gabi already knew and loved Our Place because she attended programs with her older son. Desperate, she decided to try Stork Secrets.

“I had not slept in 6 weeks. I arrived at the meeting dishevelled, and my son was crying,” says Gabi. Within 10 minutes, she felt like the other women were family because they shared common struggles. “They knew what it was like to have a baby that doesn’t stop crying in a way other mothers don’t understand.” Gabi adds, “We cried, we drank coffee together, and we passed babies around.” Some of the mothers became Gabi’s best friends.

She appreciated the tangible techniques facilitators shared during the sessions. “They suggested we take 10 minutes every day for ourselves.” Gabi and her husband agreed that she would read in a chair with headphones on and drink tea for 10 minutes every day. “Those 10 minutes were everything. They refreshed me!” She also appreciated the workshops with experts that helped her understand what was going on neurologically with her newborn. “It helped me see my son was responding out of instinct. He wasn’t trying to ruin my life.”

After six months, the situation with her son improved drastically. She kept attending Stork Secrets to support moms with newborns. However, when her son was ten months old, she felt it was time to leave the group.

“At Our Place, I found a sisterhood of mothers. It is a place where babies and motherhood are celebrated,” says Gabi. She also appreciates how inclusive Our Place is. “I am Latina, and my husband is Chinese. There are lots of different parents at Our Place and lots of different ways to parent. “

“I would 100% recommend Our Place! If you need support, go! If you want to meet friends, go!”